Sidivin strolled through the grounds aimlessly, altering his course only to avoid hitting the occasional passerby. Today was a day for petitioners to seek counsel from the Towers, and there were many more people wandering the grounds than usual. It had been his habitual bad luck to be assigned petition duty today, and he was not enjoying it in the least. It would have been far worse had anybody actually approached him with a question, but he had found a way around that unpleasant occurrence years ago.

Tower Law stated clearly that any person on petition duty must answer truthfully any reasonable question presented to him or her, or pass judgment on any quarrel to the best of their ability. However, the law never states that he must actually be perceptible. It was an old trick of his, perfected over time and masked from even other channelers by his uncanny ability to use the least amount of the Power possible to complete his weaves. They could expose him if they used the proper weaves, of course, but who goes about their day aimlessly casting detection webs?

The tower clock rang the next hour, signaling the soldiers and novices the beginning of lunch hour. He had been on duty since before breakfast, and a slight twinge of his stomach reminded him that he had not eaten all day. Sighing, he sat down on a nearby bench and rested his head in his hands. This was worse than paperwork. He was able to eat while in his study, but during petition duty there was no eating permitted.

A group of six soldiers on their way to lunch passed by chatting softly amongst themselves. He watched them enviously as they passed, and his stomach panged again. Why did mere soldiers get to eat before a Rei? For some reason they seemed a little tense as they passed, and he was able to catch a bit of their hushed conversation.

“…had to scrub floors, now my uniform is soiled…”

“…have to clean it, my mentor will kill me…”

“…relax. It’s just a little bit…”

“…if you get caught…”

The group paused a moment a few paces beyond his bench and grouped together in a circle. As he watched, they huddled together closely, looking around carefully. Interesting. Suddenly he felt it, a small bit of the Power being wielded… by one of the soldiers.

Curiosity was quickly replaced by anger as Sidivin unwove his shield and came into full view of the soldiers. Their surprise quickly gave way to abject terror as the trickle of Power he was using to maintain his invisibility instantly surged to his full capacity. Their eyes bulged as he slammed shields into them, cutting them off from the Power. Another six weaves of air engulfed the soldiers and slammed them rigidly into the nearest wall, binding and gagging them.

Sidivin was nearly shaking with rage. His booming voice roared throughout the grounds, silencing all other conversation. “How dare you channel without permission! How DARE you!”

Breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself, he formed another weave, a small bending in the pattern, similar to a gateway. The scratching of a pen could suddenly be heard, almost echoing in the complete silence following his outburst. “Zekieal, this is Sidivin. Are you busy at the moment?”

(ooc: was this an Ota post or were you waiting for someone in particular?)

OTA

Knock yourselves out! :lol:

Shaya had taken one look at the crammed full Mess Hall that day and instantly decided that the last thing she wanted to do was to sit in a stuffy hall squeezed in between a bunch of novices, soldiers and recruits. She couldn't resist the large plate of freshly baked cakes though and she deftly palmed a few one her way out. A slow and satisfied smile appeared on her face as she stepped into the fresh air. It was a cold day, but the skies were blue and clear and the sun felt pleasant on her face. She carefully avoided a couple of approaching Aes Sedai and swerved round to a more remote part of the garden. Time for lunch was limited and soon she would have to return to her classes again, so the last thing she wanted to do was spend the precious time running errands. She noticed a group of Soldiers approaching and one of them smiled at her, probably thinking that the smile on her lips was meant for him. Shaya had no time to set him straight for out of thin air suddenly appeared an Asha’man and called down the thunder on the group of unfortunate Soldiers. Shaya froze in her tracks, her eyes wide in surprise and a touch of fear.

The fact that she could not see the weaves made the whole experience even more unsettling. The Soldiers were all propped up against the wall, their eyes bulging and their mouths working soundlessly around something unseen. She instantly recognised Sidivin from her unfortunate escape to the city, although she doubted and hoped that he would recognise her. His imposing figure and piercing grey eyes was not one to soon forget and she nearly smiled as she thought the man would be haunting these men’s nightmares for a long time. She knew better than to show mirth in front of the Rei, even though it was most likely more caused out of a touch of nervousness than genuine humour. She well remembered his unyielding manner in the city, an excursion that had earned her a fierce punishment. The fact that she had managed to beat both men at poker seemed like a meagre victory compared to months of scrubbing pots.

She realised she was still frozen on the spot, watching the spectacle in front of her which a growing sense of excitement. Her danger sense told her to turn and run before he had time to notice her and include her in his wrath; not to mention the fact that the Soldiers would not thank her for witnessing their humiliation. She kept looking on though with an almost hypnotised fascination. She had never experienced a man channelling around her, apart from the time in the inn, when they had used illusion to make sure she ended up at their table. She still didn’t know which one of the two it had been, but it had sure been a neatly performed trick. It briefly reminded Shaya that she had yet to find out her own strengths when it came to the Power. She gave a tiny frown as she squinted to see if she really couldn’t see any of the weaves but soon gave up trying. Sidivin had slightly turned and appeared to be speaking to someone; there was a moment of confusion before she realised that he must have opened a tiny gateway to speak to someone else.